Horse-hitching device.



C. VV. M'ONSON.

HORSE HITCHING DEVCE.

APPLICATION m2o ocml. 1911.

oneness v'. Monson, or DuLUri'r, iarnnnsora.

Honsnnrrcnme inneren.

Learner,

' Specification' of Letters Patent.

rammed ree. as?, rai.

applicati@ fuedioetoter 1i, reir.Y serial No. 195,934.`

To all whom t may concern: Y

Be it known that llyCriARIns V'. Monson', a citizen' of the United States,fresidin`g at Duluth, in the county` of` St. Louis and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horsel-litching Devices, offwhichthe following is aA specification,` reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing. y

This invention relates to 'safety devices for hitching horses to vehicles. y

One object of the invention is to provide more simple andpractical means than heretofore known, whereby, when properly adjusted, it becomesimpossible for the` horses hitched to a vehicle to move` the latter except by the draft coming wholly upon their months.` t ,l

Other characteristics and advantages of my novel combination of elements will appear in the further description of the device. Y

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this'application and in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

,Y Figure l ijs a top plan view of a fractured vehicle tongue; equipped with my improved device, y

Fig. 2 is aside elevation of( a fragmental portion of same,-

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line A`B, Fig. l, showingvthe swingle-tree as drawn from its normal position in relationto the evener, and' Fig. lis an enlarged front edge elevation of a fragmental portion of the evener.

1 4represents the tongue orpole of a vehicle and whichinay be attached to the latter in any desired manner.

On the free end of thepole is carried the neck yoke 2 which is ordinarily attached by diagonal chains 3-3 leading from the eX- treme ends of the neck yoke to the free end ofthe pole and which is seen to permit of considerable horizontal movement of the neck yoke longitudinally the tongue without becoming detached therefrom.

@ther forms Vof neck yokes may be referred to as for example those having a ring which slips onfover the end of the tongue,

but these also'are susceptible of considerable movement longitudinally. the tongue y and will permit of the horses advancing accordingly' without movin the vehicle' provided they are notV otferwise"A attached thereto. v

3d represents the evener or doubletree to which the team of horsesvis attached by means of suitable swingle-trees 4 4, there being one at each end ofthe evener, as is the custom. rlhe evener isl here shown as carriedupon the under ide of the tongue and pi'voted in the usual manner by the draw pin 5, there being a suitable'hainnierstrap 6 upon the under side of theevener to form a substantial connection with the tongue,` y

The swingle-treesl-`4l are yield'ably attached to the ends of the evenerin thefol'- lowingmanner: y y

A metal plate "i is scarfed into the front 'edge of each end of" the evener and securely attached thereto by suitable through bolts formed a'forwardly projecting lip 12, the t outer eXtreme edges of which are turned inwardly and designedfto overlap and hold the swingle-treeattachment 13 when engaging saine. rlhe swingletree attachment comprises a rectangular shaped base portion 14. having a forwardly .'extendingloop 15 to which the swingle-tree is attached and the rearwardly rectangular shaped shank 16 which fits into a similarly shaped socket 17 formed in the head 18 when the swingletree is held back against the evener.

A long contractile spiral spring 19 is attached at one end to the shank 16' of the swingle-tree holder and passes in they opposite direction entirely through suitable holes 20 formed in the evener and onvthe back side thereof are attachedto the estreme endi swingle-tree, it becomes possible, when the keeper is withdrawn to non-engaging position, to withdraw the swingle-trees some considerable distance without causing draft to any extent upon the vehicle.

For operating the keepers to and from engagement with the swingle tree connections, I provide a crank rod 23, through the evener 34, andvto one side Y,of the tongue, said rod having a crank 24 upon its inner end for operating same and a vertically disposed cross armrlever 25 upon the opposite end to which the rods 26 and 27 are pivotally attached.` The opposite endofthe rod 27 is attached as at 28 to one of the slidableV keepers 10, and the opposite end of the rod 26 is attached as at 29 to the opposite slidable keeper 10.

Adjacent one of the slidable keepers 10, I have illustrated a spring catch 30 fixed to the front edge of the evener andcontacting the flat base portion of the keeper the latter f having a V-shaped notch therein lfor engagement by the catch as at 31 to hold same in its disengaged position, but which will slip out of the notch when the keeper is forced therefrom. 4

An elongated slot 32 is formed in the base portion offeach keeper, through which a guiding screw'33 extends to assist in further guiding and supporting the keeper and prevent lits being cramped diagonally by the vaction of the operating rod. e

Y, Upon the tongue 1 and in any desired l0- cation convenient of access toY the driver of the vehicle, which,y in ordinary circumstances vwould be in closeproximity to the evener, is mounted an upstanding line holding bracket or standard 35, which is preferably constructed of metal and having the upper extremity 36 thereof suitably shaped for the reception of rings 37 attached to the driving reins 38. These rings are so positioned longitudinally the reins that when engaged upon the standard, thehorses will be held in a normally backward position in relationto the vehicle, though not in any' sense strained in suchposition. Y Y

In operation, the driver, when leaving the vehicle, places the rein rings 37 over the hooked end 36 of the standard 35, as clearly ,shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, then he will turn the crank 24. of the shaft 23 to a fhorizontal position, as shown in Fig. 1,

which will, by virtue of their connection t0 the lcross-arm lever 25 on said crankshaft,

withdraw the keepers l0 from active engagement with the swingle-tree holding means.` This will permit of the swingle-tree being drawn forwardly from the evener to the limit of the springs 19, without imparting any material draft upon the vehicle.

Thus it is seen that if the horses attempt to advance when the mechanism is thus adjusted, the reins will hold them and prevent their leaving the vehicle or taking it with them, and by which means a practical safety horse hitching device is provided.

It is evident that various departures from the specific construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the i11- vention.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle having means for attachment of a team of horses thereto comprising a tongue, evener, swingletrees and neck yoke, of means for changing the normal unyieldable attachment of the swingle-trees to the evener to a yieldable attachment, said means including an operating element manually engageable at the rear of the evener for unlocking the swingle-trees and held in its locked position by gravity and fixed means upon the tongue adjacent 4the evener for temporarily holding the neck yoke, of means for changing the normal unyieldable attachment of the swingletrees to the evener to a yieldable attachment, said means including an operating element extending horizontally through the evener and engageable at the rear thereof for locking and unlocking the swingle-trees and fixed means upon the tongue adjacent the evener for temporarily holding the horses reins whereby any movement ahead on the part of the horses will cause all of the resultant draft to come upon the reins.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle having means for attaching a team of horses thereto comprising a tongue, an evener, swin'letrees and neck yoke; of a contractile spiral spring attaching each swingle-tree to the evener and passing therethrough, an inwardly curved rearwardly extending support for each spring rigidly fixed to the rear side of the evener, manually controlled means for unyieldably uniting the swingletrees with the evener and means for securely holding` the reins to the vehicle.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination with a vehicle having means for attaching a team of horses thereto comprising a tongue, an evener, swingle-trees and neck yoke; of a contractile spring at- Jche forward side of the evener, a shank attaohed to each swingle-tree Vand normally engaged within its respective socket, a slidable member adjacent each swngle-tree connection with the evener for overlapping engagement With the shank, means for manually manipulating the sldable membersV and means Within convenient reach of the driver for holding the horses reins against movemenfJ by the horses.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CHARLES V. MONSON. Witnesses:

S. C. BRoNsoN, S. GEO. STEVENS.

Copies vof this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of' Patents, Washington, D. GU. 

